"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

On Friday on our way home from New Hampshire—we witnessed a pretty horrific car crash. It was one of those moments where your life flashes before your eyes.  As we were driving through Manchester  southbound on Route 293 a car  coming from the other direction jumped the guard rail and starting flipping over right in front of us —Chrishelle  quickly changed lanes and we just missed hitting the woman’s car by a few inches   Amazingly no other cars were were damaged and ultimately everyone was alright—even the woman who’s car rolled several time-she had only a few minor scratches—all because she was wearing a seatbelt—If you get nothing out of this sermon—please wear your seatbelt-- if you don’t regularly buckle up.

After we got back on the road and started processing what had just happened -- Caden made the comment that in situations like this you can see  that there are a lot more good guys in the world than bad guys-- as he noted that so many folks pulled their cars over and dodged traffic to make sure that everyone was alright. 

It’s pretty easy to turn on the news or open up social media, Twitter, Facebook and to find stories of   good guys---people doing amazing things for their fellow human beings-some even risking life and limb   Stories like woman who gives away one of her kidneys to a complete stranger needing  transplant. Stories of neighbors risking life and limb to run into burning house to save the young children— stories of teachers who make themselves into human shields to protect their students from gunfire.   Stories of people starting movements working to bring justice and peace to places where there is not justice.

I want tell you a little about one of the good guys I learned about recently named Maria -- Maria Skobstova.  If you have been playing Lent madness-- you will know about Maria.

Maria was a Russian Orthodox nun who lived during the first part of the 20^th century. After fleeing Russia during the Russian revolution, Maria landed in Paris where she took vows and become a nun. Part of Maria’s ministry was simply to open her home to care for the homeless and for refugees-- those who found themselves displaced from their homelands. 

But here’s what put Maria on the map--when the Nazi’s invaded France—Maria began hiding and smuggling Jewish people out of France –one of the ways she did this was by providing counterfeit  birth certificates to help Jewish people to escape the Nazis. Eventually Maria was caught and sent to the gas chambers Ravensbruck—she died a day before Easter on Holy Saturday in 1945.  She lost her life—but I would imagine that for every Jewish life she saved she found herself just a little bit closer a little bit closer to the kingdom of God. 

In the Gospel today, Jesus talks about discipleship, he lays out what it looks like to be a follower to be a “good guy”— but he talks about it in terms I would rather not hear.  He essentially says that if you want to follow him—you have to deny yourself and take up your cross—he says that discipleship it is about losing your life—not preserving it or saving it. 

Clifton Black says that “Christian faith [discipleship]…is a vocation to never-ending struggle.”

Our faith, discipleship it’s hard work and at times it should challenges us. A struggle perhaps because we humans have an inclination for self-preservation—that we are inclined to take care of ourselves first. 

And yet as we read in the Gospels Jesus says over and over again that in God’s kingdom it’s not about putting yourself at the front of the line, first.    And I realized that good guys-never put themselves first-the epitome of a good guy is one who thinks of others first or  who acts on behalf of others.

We may never be called on to face down the Nazis and provide safe haven for those being persecuted—we may not ever be asked to risk our physical lives for the sake of the kingdom-but that doesn’t mean that we will not be asked to sacrifice— to give something up for the sake of the kingdom.  

Sometimes the struggle might be to step outside our emotional and spiritual comfort zones-that we might need to take an emotional or spiritual risk for the sake of the kingdom.  To do something we are not comfortable with or think we even have the strength to do.

A clergy friend of mine told me about a time that he visited a modern day leper colony and as he was visiting the colony—he met a man who had quite an advanced case of leprosy – as he was talking to the man he got a sense that he was to give this man a hug-- no big deal except he had leprosy—he told me that it took every bit of emotional and spiritual energy he had to reach out and wrap his arms around this man.     

Sometime the challenge, our call might be to give up or change a long-held belief because is flies in the face of God’s values.

Sometimes the call might be a financial sacrifice-to give away a bit of our hard earned cash to support an endeavor that is doing kingdom work.

Sometimes the call might be to let go of a bit of anger or deep disappointment—so that we can offer forgiveness and move forward in a relationship or simply move forward for our own spiritual health 

Sometimes and often the call is to give ourselves away in small ways, but not insignificant ways—Parker Palmer a spiritual writer in his book Let your Life Speak, wrote that the person who meant the most to him while he was suffering a deep, dark month’s long depression was the person who came and sat with him—he didn’t say much, but he simply rubbed his feet. 

Discipleship isn’t always big and great things, not always about go big or go home-- but sometimes it’s about the small seemingly insignificant things.

Mother Theresa, once said that we all can’t do great things, but that we can all do small things with great love.     

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”

How are we being called to give our lives away, to give something up, to lose our lives-- to deny ourselves?

If we are never giving anything  up-never sacrificing we might need to ask ourselves—are we walking close enough to Jesus—cause when we follow him-we will be invited to deny ourselves and to take up crosses –we will be invited to lose our lives. 

Let me just end by saying --The thing about all of this is—in losing our lives, in the sacrifice we will find new life – a new life that is better than the one we are called to leave behind. 

AMEN